Picked up this one for a mere $10.65 at an LCBO in Toronto, on general list. It is a kosher Pinotage - the first one I have seen in our market. Having read on a few websites that this was a leathery and astringent Pinotage, I just had to get one to try.
Closed with a pliable synthetic (rubber? plastic?) cork. 14.5% alc./vol. Medium-dark garnet with a scarlet-ruby core. Subdued, yet varietally correct hints of leather, wild strawberry, banana and coal - so far so good. But it appears quite viscous in the glass, and the first sip proves it... Big alcohol and heat, yet at a deeper level, simultaneously thin; lots of alcoholic heat, and a sweet (not fruit-sweet - sugary-sweet) mid-palate. Mass-market feel. Some decent flavour replays on the mid-palate, but they're rather faint. Lots of heat all across the palate and a bothersome sweetness all throughout the tasting profile. It's just barely workable at the dinner table.
This was worth trying, if only to eliminate it as a possible old-style holdover for an inexpensive price. Inexpensive it is, but it just isn't flavourful enough for me to want to try again.
The search continues.